Indiana Pacers fans used up most of their optimism going into the season with high hopes for the return of Tyrese Haliburton. After a 2025-2026 season that tested the strength of their fandom, this was supposed to be a triumphant return to the summit of the NBA behind their superstar point guard.
For the first few games of the season, it certainly looked like that would be the case. Haliburton was playing excellent basketball for a Pacers team that – even with its outstanding problems and inconsistencies – could certainly push for a playoff spot or even home-court advantage in the postseason.
So much changes in the NBA so quickly. Just a few games later, the Pacers were forced to play only six players in a real-life game with actual consequences.
Haliburton, along with more than half of the roster, is out with an injury. This time, it's a hamstring strain after he missed over 400 days with an Achilles tendon tear.
It should be so easy to continue to hold strong in the belief that Indiana can still be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. However, without the team's best player, it becomes harder and harder to continue believing that this season is any more salvageable than last year's.
Haliburton was the final hope holding people over. Without him, fans have gotten progressively more pessimistic about a team that was in the Finals just two seasons ago.
Not over till the fat lady sings
The crazy thing about the optimism around the Pacers is that it shouldn't be dead just yet. This is still a team with quite a bit of talent if it can only get healthy. They have one of the best top-three wing rotations in the league, and two of the most underrated fringe All-Stars in Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac.
Often, fans delude themselves by thinking that the impossible is possible in pursuit of the glorious feeling of being right as a homer. This is not that though. There were real reasons to be excited about this team, and those reasons have not simply evaporated just because the team's first eight games have exposed a key problem.
When it comes to injuries, depth quickly outweighs the importance of top-end talent. While it's not necessarily true that the best ability is availability, there is some truth to the fact that in order to be valuable, you need to play.
The Pacers have their players' values on hold right now. Once their guys return, there's no reason this team can't go on a significant run and pay off the optimism that some are still holding on to.
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